To fully appreciate how mangroves have adapted to their environment, it is worth noting that, when in contact with the sea, red mangroves\u2014which are perfectly adapted to a saline environment\u2014excrete salt (they release salt through small pores on their leaves), whereas other genera literally block the salt before it can penetrate the plant (this type of mangrove performs a sort of desalination of seawater).<\/p>\n
While the presence of salt has forced mangroves to adapt, this is not their only adaptation; since the substrate is muddy, mangroves have developed two types of root systems: stilt roots or arching roots, which allow them to brace themselves in the mud and remain firmly anchored (as is the case with the red mangrove), and creeping roots, which pass beneath the mud and emerge at intervals as small, turgid protuberances called pneumatophores (as seen in the white mangrove). Many other adaptations exist \u2026<\/p>\n
While the flora has adapted to this very unique environment, the animals that thrive in the mangrove have adapted to it as well. To give just one example, the Periophthalmus<\/em>, a fish that lives exclusively in mangroves, has developed a dual survival strategy. At high tide, it breathes (underwater) through its gills, while at low tide, it crawls across the mud and breathes out of the water using primitive lungs. The same is true of the Taxodes jaculator<\/em>, a small fish that lives along mangrove fringes and hunts on tree branches. It may seem surprising, but this fish shoots a powerful jet of water (from its mouth) that dislodges insects from the branches of red mangroves, and once they\u2019re in the water, all it has to do is catch them. Again, there are many other adaptations\u2026<\/p>\n In addition to these characteristics, it should be noted that mangroves provide real benefits to humans:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Since mangroves are areas where large volumes of organic matter decompose, they release methane, which sometimes gives them a foul odor. Through a simple association of ideas (bad smell = waste or dumps), people have turned mangroves into open-air dumps.<\/p>\n Whether in Saint Vincent, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, or many other parts of the world, hundreds of km2<\/sup> Mangrove forests have been turned into landfills or altered by human activity (construction of roads, ports, industrial zones, etc.). Yet the Amerindians, who were well aware of the benefits of mangroves, made them a cornerstone of their civilization. They used mangrove oysters for food; women adorned themselves with polished shells; the leaves were used for medicinal purposes; and the mud was used to protect against mosquitoes and to treat certain skin conditions, among other things.<\/p>\n Faced with such untapped\u2014not to mention forgotten\u2014wealth, isn\u2019t it time to restore the mangrove to its rightful place at the center of our attention, since it is a habitat we need?.<\/p>\n In the context of climate change, some studies suggest that protecting mangroves\u2014or even promoting their growth\u2014is the best way to combat rising sea levels. What are we waiting for to take action?<\/p>\n Pascal SAFFACHE and Gr\u00e9gory ARIBO<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" La mangrove (ou mangle) est une for\u00eat de la zone intertropicale qui se d\u00e9veloppe prioritairement sur un substrat vaseux. Si les mangroves occupent principalement les marges c\u00f4ti\u00e8res, certaines se d\u00e9veloppent sur les berges des rivi\u00e8res, \u00e0 leurs embouchures, et parfois m\u00eame au fond de cuvettes. Quelle que soit leurs localisations, les mangroves sont des \u00e9cosyst\u00e8mes …<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biodiversite"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUltimately, the mangrove ecosystem has very low plant diversity (there are only 60 genera of mangrove trees worldwide and about 15 in the Caribbean), but very high animal diversity.<\/h3>\n
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Given these circumstances, how can we explain why the mangroves are in such poor condition?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/martinique2050.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/download-1.jpg\")
Worldwide, mangroves currently cover just under 100,000 km2<\/sup> (which is roughly equivalent to the area of the island of Cuba\u2014which is actually very small), and they continue to shrink because humans have turned them into unproductive spaces.<\/p>\n